All About the Drive

Today’s travelogue is brought to you by: Momma C. She’s what makes moms great! Without the generous use of her car, I couldn’t be here.

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I’ve never had a better crossing from California to Utah than the one I had today. Normally it’s tons of pit stops and choruses of “I’m borrrrrrrrrrred” so much that you could bleed out your eyes if you hear it one more time. It’s even worse if you’re one of those people who means to leave early, but doesn’t actually get on the road (FOR REAL) until you should already be halfway to your destination.

I don’t know what was different this time. I stopped about as often as I would had I gone without any kids, there was no fighting, and complaining for the whole trip totalled 5 minutes (maybe even less!). That was a TRUE miracle considering Mom’s portable personal DVD player ran out of battery after 30 minutes. The boys were so excited to use it but I knew it wouldn’t last long so I made them wait until we got to the desert (which they deemed was right after we got through Reno). Although having a DVD player with us didn’t end up being as great as they hoped, I bet they’re glad they waited as long as they did!

Mom was so good to let me use her car for this trip. I’m sure our van might have made the trip, but maybe not the trip back. And I definitely wouldn’t have spent only $75 in gas so far. $75 doesn’t even fill up my van’s tank! The last time we borrowed her car for a trip was to visit Honey’s brother and his family in Yosemite; and the CD player ate a CD and won’t give it back. It keeps saying there’s nothing in there, but we know better. Driving in a car with an unusable CD player and no way to listen to the iPod through the car speakers (I’m that cheap!) I thought I’d be the one falling asleep at the wheel and whining about how bored I was, but Nevada is no longer the place I call “The Great Waste of Space”.

Since I have developed an appreciation for native grasses and high desert vegetation, Nevada has become incredibly beautiful to me. We saw some beautiful scenery and were even almost blown out of our lane by one of those dirt devils! There were also random hills in the middle of nowhere, cotton candy clouds, and right outside of Elko there was a suicidal coyote who trotted accross the freeway right in front of me and the giant truck in the next lane! As we entered the West Desert of Utah, there was an unexpected surprise waiting for us… a lightening storm! I wasn’t sure if I was seeing it right at first, but when the kids started noticing the light bursts I knew it was real. It was a most incredible light show, we even saw a streak that curved side to side like a smile on a smiley face in midair! I have to say, my favorite smell in the world is fresh cut grass, but a razor-thin close second is a rainstorm on a hot sumer night.

Although the reason for my visit is sad, I’m glad I can be here for my friend, E, and hopefully provide some comfort to her and her family. It was hard to lose my dad when I was 7 and never receive a replacement, but I imagine it may be even harder to lose a parent after you’ve known them for 35 years.

For all of my Utah friends, I’m staying at Honey’s parents house and can be reached at their phone number (which you can find in the phone book) or I also have my cell phone with me. There are quite a few of you whose phone numbers I either don’t have or don’t have current ones for so please contact me so we can get together! I’d hate to miss seeing you, especially since we don’t often visit here any more now that my mom’s with us. You can also leave me a message on FB, as I will be leaving ones for you, too! I think I will arrange a Girl’s Night Out on Thursday evening at a restraunt, but I haven’t decided where yet. So put it on your calendars!